The Best Total-Body Stretches for Healthy Aging

Regular stretching is crucial for anyone who wants to move with ease and comfort as they age. And there are a few specific stretches to keep on your radar throughout the decades.

The best stretches for your fifties, sixties, and seventies aren’t actually too different from one another — all focus on foundational moves that help open your hips, back, and shoulders. But there are a few adjustments you can make each decade to make them more accessible.

Read on to learn the best stretches for older adults and how to tweak them as you age.

The Best Stretches for Your 50s

In your fifties, you may start feeling noticeable changes in your flexibility, the ability of your muscles to stretch, according to Melissa Garcia, DPT, CSCS, a physical therapist based in Seattle. You may notice more difficulty getting up from the floor, reaching for objects on a high shelf, or getting onto your bed.

“The downside to losing flexibility is that things that you do every day start to seem a lot harder,” Garcia says. “Eventually, you have to compensate to work around the inflexibility and eventually may lose the ability to perform the task altogether.”

So, for this age group, maintaining muscle stretch is the priority. These three moves will stretch your whole body forward, back, and side to side.

World’s Greatest Stretch

1. Start in a tabletop position with your elbows beneath your shoulders and only your hands and toes touching the ground.
2. From this position, step your left foot to the outside of your left hand so you’re in a low lunge.
3. Twist to your left side, reaching your left arm toward the ceiling and opening your chest.
4. Bring your left elbow to the inside of your right foot, then reach that arm toward the ceiling again.
5. Repeat for 30 seconds.
6. Return to a push-up position, then switch sides.

Downward-Facing Dog

1. Start on all fours, tuck your toes under, and lift your hips up to straighten your legs. (A soft bend in the knees is okay.)
2. Draw your shoulders down your spine and away from your ears.
3. Depending on your flexibility, bring your heels down toward the ground or stay on the balls of your feet with your knees bent.
4. Hold for 30 seconds.
5. Bring your knees back down to the ground in the starting position.

Lying Figure 4 Windshield Wiper

1. Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
2. Cross your right ankle over your left knee, creating a figure 4.
3. Keeping your upper body still and maintaining the figure 4, allow your legs to gently fall to the right until your right knee comes in contact with the ground.
4. Hold here for 30 seconds and return to the starting position.
5. Repeat on the opposite side.

The Best Stretches for Your 60s

Age-related muscle loss, also known as sarcopenia, starts ramping up in your sixties. And a loss of mobility, or how well your joints move, often comes with it, according to Garcia.

“In older age, declining mobility affects someone’s independence in performing everyday tasks,” she says. In this decade, a consistent stretching and mobility practice is needed to help prevent pain and maintain your comfort performing daily activities, like walking up and down the stairs or reaching above your head.

In your sixties, you also want to focus on more sensitive parts of your body, like your spine. Swapping downward dog for child’s pose and simplifying your windshield wipers make these stretches less intense on your back.

Child’s Pose

1. Start with your knees on the ground.
2. Sit back on your heels and stretch your arms forward, relaxing your forehead to the floor.
3. Feel your lower back, hips, and waist lengthening as you tap into your deep breathing.
4. Stay in the pose for 8 to 10 breaths.

Lying Windshield Wipers

1. Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.
2. Keeping your upper body still and maintaining the bend in your knees, allow your legs to gently fall to the left until your right knee comes in contact with the ground.
3. Hold here for 30 seconds and return to the starting position.
4. Repeat on the opposite side.

Half-Kneeling Bow and Arrow

1. Kneel on the ground with your knees at hip-width distance, arms straight out in front of you.
2. Bend your right knee to 90 degrees and place your right foot flat on the ground in front of you.
3. Keeping your left arm in place, draw your right right elbow back as if you’re pulling an arrow in a bow.
4. At the same time, twist your torso to your right and look behind you.
5. Pause here for a moment, then return to the starting position.
6. Repeat for 30 seconds and then switch sides.
7. Use a wall or chair for extra support if you struggle to keep good form during this movement.

The Best Stretches for Your 70s and Beyond

Avoiding pain is especially important when moving in your seventies, so never push through stiffness or aches while you stretch, Garcia says. In this decade, your body’s ability to heal and recover can slow significantly, so staying injury-free is at the top of the list.

For some extra comfort, do any seated or lying-down stretches on a cushioned surface, like a bed or padded yoga mat. Have something sturdy, like a chair, table, or bed, at your side for support if you need a little extra assistance getting up, Garcia recommends.

For many people in this age group, maintaining balance is a challenge. That’s why all these stretches are done in a seated or lying-down position, so you can focus on the stretch in your muscles without the risk of falling.

Side-Lying Thoracic Rotation

1. Lie on your left side with your legs stacked and bent at 90 degrees.
2. Stack your arms straight out in front of you at shoulder height.
3. Keeping your lower body still, open your right arm out to your right, forming a T shape.
4. At the same time, turn your head to the right and open your chest up to the ceiling.
5. Return to the starting position and repeat for 30 seconds.
6. Switch sides and repeat.

Seated Lat Stretch

1. Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground.
2. Place a stability ball in front of you.
3. Lean forward, keeping your back as flat as possible, and straighten your arms across the ball.
4. Let your head drop between your hands, and continue to lean forward as you ease into the stretch.
5. If you don’t have a stability ball at home, you can do this same motion with the seat of a couch.
6. Just face your chair toward the couch and use it as your support.

Seated Figure 4 Stretch

1. Sit in a chair with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
2. Cross your right foot over your left thigh.
3. Gently lean forward as far as comfortable, holding your lower body in place.
4. To deepen this stretch, bend at your hip as you lean forward.

The Takeaway

• Following a regular stretching routine can help you stay flexible and mobile with age.
• The best stretches for your fifties, sixties, seventies, and beyond focus on opening the hips, back, and shoulders.
• However, the body undergoes changes during each decade that make it necessary to make specific tweaks to the stretches.